South Africa: Stellenbosch

Stollenbosch: My Next Artist Colony

A friend asked recently if I’m going to an Artist Colony this summer. With nearly 40 days of international travel, it isn’t possible this year. But I tell you what. I would like to come back to Spier Wine Farm and stay for a month (or more) to write and reflect.

First, what stunning scenery. The grounds are beautiful, with rolling hills and mountains in the distance and lush vegetation and a river walk. But let me tell you about the art. The hotel has a strong commitment to arts and culture, and the lobby is full of paintings and sculptures by contemporary South African artists. It is essentially a museum. John and I took time to wander through the lobby and dining room looking at every piece, and we pretty much agreed we would love to have any of them in our home. It is such a beautifully curated collection.

And then, we arrived to our room. It had equally beautiful artwork. And it had a large living room, kitchen, terrace seating, large bedroom, and views to the river. Seriously I would love to live there for a month and be inspired and write.

The hotel was so kind to start us off with a birthday cake and a bottle of red wine. John and I enjoyed a small sip while touring the room, but we quickly showered and put on our first new clothes in 48 hours, and started touring the grounds. There are several restaurants, an amphitheater, Segway wine tours, and a picnic shop.

After strolling the grounds we arranged for a trip in to Stollenbosch. It was about a 15 minute journey. We wandered this University town and chose a restaurant for a snack. That’s when we had the first of a repeating experience that was so fun during our trip. We asked the woman at the table next to us a question, and then we mentioned that John was running Comrades. This woman happened to be from the place we were heading next (Durban), and it turned out she ran Comrades twice! She gave John lots of good advice, and when we were leaving we learned that she had her 50th birthday last week! It was a fun encounter.

Back at Spier Wine Farm, we headed back to the room for a short rest before dinner. The restaurant was so delicious with lots of fresh and innovative choices. I started with squid and had a hake entree. John started with chicken livers and got a pork entree. We had a couple very delicious white wines. Then the staff came and sang happy birthday to John and wished us a good trip.

Back in the room, we fell fast asleep. Morning, and our departure from Spier Wine Farm, would come much too soon.